Japan

World Facts

Introduction

Background

In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and an ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians hold actual decision-making power. Following three decades of unprecedented growth, Japan's economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s, but the country remains an economic power. In March 2011, Japan's strongest-ever earthquake, and an accompanying tsunami, devastated the northeast part of Honshu island, killed thousands, and damaged several nuclear power plants. The catastrophe hobbled the country's economy and its energy infrastructure, and tested its ability to deal with humanitarian disasters. Prime Minister Shinzo ABE was reelected to office in December 2012, and has since embarked on ambitious economic and security reforms to improve Japan's economy and bolster the country's international standing.

Geography

Location

Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula

Terrain

Elevation

Natural resources

negligible mineral resources, fishnote: with virtually no natural energy resources, Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas, as well as the second largest importer of oil

Land use

Irrigated land

24,690 sq km (2012)

Natural hazards

many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors but occasional severe earthquakes) every year; tsunamis; typhoonsvolcanism: both Unzen (elev. 1,500 m) and Sakura-jima (elev. 1,117 m), which lies near the densely populated city of Kagoshima, have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Asama, Honshu Island's most active volcano, Aso, Bandai, Fuji, Iwo-Jima, Kikai, Kirishima, Komaga-take, Oshima, Suwanosejima, Tokachi, Yake-dake, and Usu

Environment - current issues

air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere; following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan originally planned to phase out nuclear power, but it has now implemented a new policy of seeking to restart nuclear power plants that meet strict new safety standards

Health expenditures

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Drinking water source

improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of populationunimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access

improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of populationunimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths

NA

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

3.5% (2014)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

3.4% (2010)

Education expenditures

3.8% of GDP (2014)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 15 yearsmale: 15 yearsfemale: 15 years (2013)

Mother's mean age at first birth

30.3 (2012 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 5.9%male: 6.4%female: 5.4% (2014 est.)

Government

Country name

conventional long form: noneconventional short form: Japanlocal long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-kokulocal short form: Nihon/Nipponetymology: the English word for Japan comes via the Chinese name for the country "Cipangu"; both Nihon and Nippon mean "where the sun originates" and are frequently translated as "Land of the rising sun"

International law organization participation

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: nocitizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Japandual citizenship recognized: noresidency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)head of government: Prime Minister Shinzo ABE (since 26 December 2012); Deputy Prime Minister Taro ASO (since 26 December 2012)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime ministerelections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats; 146 members directly elected by majority vote and 96 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (475 seats; 295 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 180 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve maximum 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years) elections: House of Councillors - last held on 10 July 2016 (next to be held in July 2019); House of Representatives - last held on 14 December 2014 (next to be held by 15 December 2016)election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPD 123, DP 51, Komeito 25, JCP 14, Osaka Ishin no Kai (Initiatives from Osaka) 12, Independents Club 5, The Party for Japanese Kokoro 3, independents 2; note: 7 seats are pending confirmation
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 291, DPJ 71, Komeito 35, JCP 21, JIP 21, Osaka Ishin no Kai 13, Group of Reformists 5, SDP 2, PLPTYF 2, independents 13, 1 seat vacantnote: the 2013 amended electoral law - effective for the December 2016 election - reduced to 475 the number of seats in the House of Representatives

Political pressure groups and leaders

other: business groups; trade unions

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Saiko saibansho (consists of the chief justice and 14 associate justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in constitutional issuesjudge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice designated by the Cabinet and appointed by the monarch; associate justices appointed by the Cabinet and confirmed by the monarch; all justices are reviewed in a popular referendum at the first general election of the House of Representatives following each judge's appointment and every 10 years afterwardsubordinate courts: 8 High Courts (Koto-saiban-sho), each with a Family Court (Katei-saiban-sho); 50 District Courts (Chiho saibansho), with 203 additional branches; 438 Summary Courts (Kani saibansho)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Renho MURATA]
Group of Reformists [Sakihito OZAWA]
Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]
Japan Innovation Party or JIP [Yorihisa MATSUNO]
Komeito [Natsuo YAMAGUCHI]
Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Shinzo ABE]
New Renaissance Party [Hiroyuki ARAI]
Osaka Ishin no Kai [Ichiro MATSUI]
Party for Future Generations or PFG [Kyoko NAKAYAMA]
People's Life Party & Taro Yamamoto and Friends or PLPTYF [Ichiro OZAWA]
Social Democratic Party or SDP [Tadatomo YOSHIDA]
The Assembly to Energize Japan and the Independents [Kota MATSUDA]

Flag description

white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center

National symbol(s)

red sun disc, chrysanthemum; national colors: red, white

National anthem

name: "Kimigayo" (The Emperor"s Reign)lyrics/music: unknown/Hiromori HAYASHInote: adopted 1999; unofficial national anthem since 1883; oldest anthem lyrics in the world, dating to the 10th century or earlier; there is some opposition to the anthem because of its association with militarism and worship of the emperor

Economy

Population below poverty line

16.1% (2013 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

Economy - overview

Over the past 70 years, government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan develop an advanced economy. Two notable characteristics of the post-World

Scarce in many natural resources, Japan has long been dependent on imported raw materials. Since the complete shutdown of Japan’s nuclear reactors after the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011, Japan's industrial sector has become even more dependent

For three decades, overall real economic growth had been impressive - a 10% average in the 1960s, 5% in the 1970s, and 4% in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the aftereffects of inefficient investment

Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, Japan in 2016 stood as the fourth-largest economy in the world after first-place China, which surpassed Japan in 2001, and third-place India, which edged out Japan in 20

Telephones - mobile cellular

Telephone system

general assessment: excellent domestic and international servicedomestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kindinternational: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 7 Intelsat (Pacific and Indian Oceans), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), 2 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian (2012)

Broadcast media

a mixture of public and commercial broadcast TV and radio stations; 6 national terrestrial TV networks including 1 public broadcaster; the large number of radio and TV stations available provide a wide range of choices; satellite and cable services provid (2012)

Internet country code

.jp

Internet users

total: 118.453 millionpercent of population: 93.3% (July 2015 est.)

Transportation

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 23inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 627annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 113.762 millionannual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 8,868.745 million mt-km (2015)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; mandatory retirement at age 53 for senior enlisted personnel and at 62 years for senior service officers (2012)

Military expenditures

0.97% of GDP (2012)
1.01% of GDP (2011)
0.99% of GDP (2010)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international

the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan